Pine Bluff - Arkansas Children's in association with Jefferson Regional made an historic announcement to advance pediatric care in Jefferson County and South Arkansas. Together, Arkansas Children's and Jefferson Regional will establish a new pediatric clinic on the campus of Jefferson Regional in Pine Bluff. The pediatric clinic will provide care close to home for families in Southeast Arkansas, including preventive care, developmental screenings, community resources and health education.

Early planning estimates that the Arkansas Children's Hospital Pine Bluff Clinic will be an approximately 9,700 square-foot facility with 15 outpatient exam rooms staffed by pediatric providers. The physicians will also provide frontline care to newborns delivered at Jefferson Regional. The new clinic requires a $17.5 million dollar investment to cover the construction and operation over its first 5 years.

Arkansas Children's has announced the public phase of the Campaign for a Healthier Tomorrow, a bold $250 million campaign designed to support the promise of unprecedented child health, defined and delivered, for children in Arkansas. The expansion of services through the Arkansas Children's Hospital Pine Bluff Clinic is the first announcement in a week-long series to publicly launch the Campaign for a Healthier Tomorrow.

Philanthropic Investment

Thanks to the support of the Pine Bluff community and donors across the region, more than $6 million in philanthropic investment has been secured for the Arkansas Children's Hospital Pine Bluff Clinic.

Capital and operational gifts include a $3 million gift from the estate of Merle and Deloris Peterson of Dumas. The Peterson Trust named Arkansas Children's as a beneficiary of the estate, providing support for the Arkansas Children's Hospital Pine Bluff Clinic. Merle and Deloris were longtime supporters of Arkansas Children's and members of the Ruth Olive Beall Society, a group of supporters who have designated Arkansas Children's in their estate.

Additionally, an anonymous donor from outside the state gave a $1 million gift to support the Arkansas Children's Hospital Pine Bluff Clinic. More than a dozen statewide supporters have collectively given more than $2 million including statewide volunteer group Circle of Friends, the Kline Family Foundation, and Arkansas Children's Foundation board members and Pine Bluff natives Jason LaFrance and his wife Cassie, Charlie Whiteside and his wife Cappy, and Jennifer Buckner Schueck. Charlie Whiteside and his wife Cappy will also serve as the 2019 chairs for the Campaign for a Healthier Tomorrow.

Arkansas Children's invites the public to make a gift to support statewide initiatives that help deliver on the promise of a healthier tomorrow for the children of Arkansas. Visit giving.archildrens.org